1) The document discusses the strategy of ideas-based selling, which involves initiating discussions with customers about business ideas to solve problems rather than traditionally proposing solutions. 2) Ideas-based selling focuses on understanding how customers make decisions and guiding their thinking by discussing relevant business opportunities and visions for the future. 3) Research found that decision-makers prioritize resources that understand their industry and business over low-cost solutions when choosing who can help address issues.

1. Ideas-Based Selling
July 20, 2011
 2011 The Forum Corporation

2. What If Your Sales Force Could
Consistently …
 Call on senior decision-makers with
discretionary budget?
— and —
 Guide their thinking?
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3. Your Sales Force Would Mobilize Their
Customers to Buy
 Improve win rates
 Increase deal size and profitability
 Differentiate from competition
 Increase customer loyalty
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4. Use Ideas-Based Selling and
Flip the Selling Process
Traditional Consultative Selling
Gain
Find Prospect Propose Your
Prospect’s
with a Need Solution
Commitment
Ideas-Based Selling
Initiate Idea Gain Prospect’s
Discussion with Commitment to Propose Your
Prospect Implementing Solution
Idea
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5. Ideas-Based Selling
A key to this approach is understanding how a customer
executive makes decisions—including potential purchase
decisions
Why?
How? Who
To what extent is this
What are the possible can best deliver the
idea relevant to my
solutions? right solution?
business?
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6. Polling Question
Where is your typical entry point into a customer sales
conversation?
Why?
How?
To what extent is this Who can best deliver
What are the possible
idea relevant to my the right solution?
solutions?
business?
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7. Ideas-Based Selling
A key to this approach is understanding how a customer
executive makes decisions—including potential purchase
decisions
Why?
How?
To what extent is this Who can best deliver
What are the possible
idea relevant to my the right solution?
solutions?
business?
Entry point for an Entry point for
ideas-based approach traditional selling
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8. What Do We Mean By “Ideas?”
 Ideas are perspectives on and approaches to addressing customer
problems that can be solved and that are worth solving
 Solving them is hard—or at least not easy or self-evident for the
customer
 Customer value realized from your idea could include:
 Achieving profitable revenue growth and market share
 Eliminating or mitigating a serious threat to business
 Enhancing the experience/improving the loyalty of the end
customer
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9. “Talk Track” for Articulating Your Idea
Describe the business opportunity and a compelling vision for the future—
not your products and capabilities
Customer problem or opportunity

New vision of the future

Potential paths for achieving the vision

“Focus on the hole, not the drill!”
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10. Example of an IBM Idea
Counterfeit shipping containers costs European
Customer problem
1 wholesale distributors hundreds of millions of euros
or opportunity
each year
Detection of counterfeit containers and removal from the
New vision of supply chain can reduce costs while strengthening
2
the future brand image
Solutions based on radio-frequency identification (RFID)
Potential paths for
3 technology can provide in immediate in-the-field
achieving the vision
detection of counterfeit containers
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11. Example of a GE Healthcare Idea
Customer problem Low bed-utilization rates threaten the ROI of newly built
1
or opportunity hospitals in the high-growth region of Dubai/Abu Dhabi
Optimizing key hospital functions will improve the patient
New vision of experience, helping hospitals deliver world-class health
2
the future care and improve financial performance
Streamlining hospital processes—both clinical care and
Potential paths for
3 administrative processes—can reduce patient wait-time and
achieving the vision
increase bed-utilization rates
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12. Polling Question
Where would you expect these ideas to come from?
o Sales
o Marketing
o Product Management
o Research & Development
o External resources
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13. Preparing Ideas
 Address specific value
 Apply best thinking
 Develop tight script
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14. Forum Investigates Decision-Maker
Preferences
Respondents by
Region
North America
15% APAC
37% EMEA
 Global survey June 2011
 234 qualified respondents 48%
– Access to budget
– Actions impact profit
 Revenues: <$100 million to >$1 billion
Respondents by Level
 Cross-section of industries 4%
C-level
15%
Senior manager
33%
Mid manager
28%
Front line mgr
20% Indiv. Contributor
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15. Polling Question
Which criterion do you think is most important to
decision-makers in deciding whether to meet with an
outside resource?
o Knows my industry
o Knows me
o Has strong reputation
o Provides low cost solutions
o Calculates ROI
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16. How Decision Makers Choose
Who Gets to Help Them
In consulting outside resources to help you address this
and other critical business issues, what criteria were
most important to you in deciding to work with them?
“Knows my industry
Knows my industry
and business” is
Is easy to work with
essential.
Knows my business
Shows me alternative solutions
Is accessible
Identifies risks to my business
Diagnoses the root cause
Expertise
Offers new or unique insights
Strong reputation
Helps me evaluate solutions
Presents complete solutions “Low-cost solutions”
Considers my needs ranked in bottom third.
Provides low-cost solutions
Challenges my thinking
Knows my customers
Educates my colleagues and me
“Knows me” is least
Reinforces my existing thinking
Calculates ROI
important;
Knows business leaders
understanding business
Knows me trumps personal
relationship.
3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 4 4.1 4.2
1=Not at all important/ 5=Critically important
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17. Decision-Makers Expect Ideas to Be
Relevant and Significant
What Do Decision Makers Focus on Most?
Profit
Quality
Efficiency
Revenue
Innovation
Customer loyalty
Speed
Competitiveness
Employee retention
Regulatory compliance
0 20 40 60 80 100
Percent of Respondents
N=234
Forum global survey of decision makers, June 2011
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18. Ideas-Based Selling Is a Win-Win
For Customer For Solution Provider
 Gained insight into most  Enabled selling higher in
important problems or new organization
opportunities of which was
 Gained customer insights
unaware
and built customer intimacy
 Guided through complex
 Positioned as business
decision process
partner and trusted advisor
 Introduced to “thinking
 Allowed higher margin
partner” for advice and
pricing of products and
ideas
services
 Reduced risks of
implementation failures
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19. Match Your Selling Capabilities
to the Way Your Customers Buy
High
IDEAS-BASED
SELLING
Opportunity for Full
Educating Business
Customer About CONSULTATIVE
Solution
Business Ideas Medium
SELLING
Single Product/ Bundled
Service Offer Services/
Products
TRANSACTIONAL
SELLING
Low
Low Medium High
Seller’s Knowledge of Customer’s Business and Industry
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20. How the Sales Cadence Shifts
FROM TO
Key  ―Are you interested in our  ―Is this problem/opportunity
Question product?‖ worth exploring?‖
 Talk at the customer  Educate and discuss
Interaction  Focus on our product  Focus on the value of the
Style  Everyone is a potential opportunity
customer  Evaluate customer fit
 Lots of product collateral  Blank sheet of paper
Tools  ―Death by PowerPoint‖  Whitepaper
 Discount schedules  Validation methods
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21. Forum Responds to the Research
Ideas-Based Selling
 2-day instructor-led classroom program
 Process, skills, tools
 For experienced salespeople
 Sales manager companion program
 Available globally in Fall 2011
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22. Jeffrey Baker
VP & Practice Leader
Strategy. Accelerated.
Forum mobilizes people to embrace
the critical strategies of their
organization and accelerate results.
When you need to swiftly align your
people to tackle an opportunity or
Michael Collins
tear down a roadblock, Forum is an
essential business asset. VP & Executive
www.forum.com Consultant
800.FORUM.11
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Facebook.com/TheForumCorp Slideshare.net/ForumCorp
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